Promise of the Father
With the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham have commenced.
The “promise of the Father” is the gift of the Spirit that Paul links to the
Abrahamic covenant, and its promises find their fulfillment in the new covenant
inaugurated by Jesus. The bestowal of the Spirit on the church marks the
commencement of the age of fulfillment, and “in Christ,” Gentile believers become full heirs of Abraham.
And the
Apostle equated the “promise of the Spirit” with the “blessings of
Abraham.” The original covenant always envisioned the inclusion of the Gentiles,
a point Paul uses when contending for the acceptance of Gentile believers in
the covenant community without requiring their circumcision.
HEIRS OF ABRAHAM
All men
and women who belong to Jesus become “Abraham’s
seed, heirs according to promise,” and “in
Christ,” the old distinctions between “Jew and Gentile” no longer
apply. The inclusion of the Gentiles is not an afterthought but has always been
integral to the original covenant - (Genesis 12:1-3, Galatians 3:13, 3:29).
And the
gift of the Spirit is received from faith, and not based on circumcision or the
other rituals required by the Torah - (Galatians 3:1-4, 3:14).
- (Ephesians 1:13-14) – “In whom, you also are hearing the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also believing, were sealed with the Spirit of the promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, for the redemption of the acquisition; for his glorious praise.”
The Spirit
is the “earnest,” the “down payment” that guarantees our
participation in the full inheritance, and the references in Ephesians
to the “inheritance” and “acquisition” allude to the land promised
by God to Abraham:
- (Genesis 17:8) - “I will give to you and your seed all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession.”
Thus, Paul connects the gift of
the Spirit to the covenant with Abraham, including its promise of territory.
Likewise, Jesus labeled the
gift of the Spirit the “promise of the Father,” and before his
ascension, he commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received
the Spirit, then they would become his “witnesses to the uttermost parts of
the earth” - (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4).
PROMISES FULFILLED
In his sermon
delivered on the Day of Pentecost, Peter declared that the outpouring of the
Spirit was according to the prophecy in the book of Joel - “In
the last days, God will
pour out His Spirit on all flesh.”
The presence of the Spirit in the church demonstrates
that the “last days” are underway, the era of fulfillment that is to
continue until the return of Jesus at the end of the age - (Genesis 17:7-10,
Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:38-39).
The gift
of the Spirit is how men and women receive the “blessings of Abraham.”
By the Spirit, men from every nation find themselves blessed with faithful
Abraham – heirs of the promises and members of the covenant community -
(Genesis 12:3, Acts 3:25).
The
actualization of the promises began with the outpouring of the Spirit on
Pentecost. Since then, every man and woman who receives the gift becomes a “child
of Abraham,” and therefore, the old boundary dividing Jew from Gentile is
wholly inappropriate in the new community formed by Jesus Christ - (Galatians
3:27-29).
NEW COVENANT
The Mosaic
legislation itself anticipated the need for something beyond the Law. The Torah could
not complete what God began with Abraham. Inevitably, Israel disobeyed and
violated the covenant.
However,
after chastisement and repentance, the nation would “return to Yahweh and
obey His voice,” and God would gather His people from all nations and “circumcise
their hearts to love Him” - (Deuteronomy
30:1-6).
The themes
of renewal and circumcision of the heart are taken up by the prophet
Jeremiah. God “will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the
house of Judah,” but not like the covenant that He made at Sinai.
With the outpouring of the Spirit, God is writing His laws in the hearts of His people, and the promised circumcision of the heart is being realized in the body of Christ - (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 8:6-13).
The book
of Ezekiel adds the aspect of the Spirit to the promised “new
covenant.” When Yahweh gathers the children of Israel, He will put “a
new spirit” in them, and He will thereby “cause them to walk in His
statutes.”
The book
of Ezekiel combines the promises of Spirit, circumcised heart,
and New Covenant. Thus, the covenant promises are linked to and dependent on
the receipt of the Spirit - (Ezekiel
36:16-28, 37:25-28, 2
Corinthians 3:1-6).
Consistently,
the New Testament applies the promises made to Abraham to the gift of the
Spirit that is now granted freely to Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus.
And that
gift is labeled the “promise of the Father” and the “blessing of
Abraham.” It is the identifying sign of the people of God, and the Spirit
provides believers with the power to walk in the New Covenant and fulfill the “righteous
requirements of the Law.”
